Inner West Council offers rebate for reusable nappies and sanitary products

There are some parts of the early parenting journey common to all, from the sheer exhaustion of the baby years to the joy of those first smiles, words and steps.

And then there’s the nappies. So. Many. Nappies.

And that tiny bit of guilt every time a disposable goes into the bin and onto landfill.

Inner West Council has quantified this, finding in a Kerbside audit in 2019 that single use nappies, tampons and pads make up approximately 8 per cent by weight of the average inner west red bin.

In an attempt to address this, the council is trialing a rebate for residents who shift to from singe-use to re-usable products. This includes cloth nappies, re-usable wipes and re-usable breastfeeding pads. If the nappy changing days are behind you, this rebate extends to sanitary products as well, including period undies, reusable sanitary pads and cups.

The council will refund residents 50 per cent of the product value. So keep those receipts next time you make a purchase! The rebate will cover up to $150 for nappies and up to $100 for sanitary products. The maximum rebate available per household is $150.

The trial will run until the end of the current financial year or when the allocated funds have been used. The council’s website features a tracker advising how much has been claimed.

And if you do decide to go down the cloth nappy route, and want to outsource the washing, a recent thread in the Inner West Mums group recommended Lavenderia.

For more information about the IWC rebate: https://www.innerwest.nsw.gov.au/live/waste-and-recycling/reuse/reusable-sanitary-product-rebate